Microsoft Launches 2nd Seinfeld Salvo
The iconic comedian and Bill Gates stumble through suburbia
I'm still amused by Apple's Mac vs. PC guy ads, especially the one where PC pokes his head up out of a pizza box and explains he wants to attract college students.
Microsoft apparently decided it was time to try it's own version of funny ads. Microsoft has teamed up Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld in a series of ads, that so far, only hint at anything Windows or Vista related. Gizmodo calls Gates and Seinfeld
the new Laural and Hardy of ambiguous advertising
The public hasn't seen many of the minute and a half ads yet, but there's a four and a half minute version that Karen at Unterekless Thoughts declares
New Gates/Seinfeld/Microsoft ad made me laugh so it must be good
You can see the long version at YouTube. In the long version, Bill and Jerry attempt to live with a normal (as in not filthy rich like them) family. They attempt a few normal things, like eating scalloped potatoes and playing ping pong before they get kicked out.
There are some funny lines, which is all there is to evaluate the ads on at this point—nothing technical is getting mentioned. Abbey Klaassen at Advertising Age agreed in Gates, Seinfeld Funnier Second Time Around. Klaassen pointed out,
What the latest spot brings – which seemed unlikely with the first spot, dubbed "The Conquistador," that broke last week – is the potential for the ad to go viral. An extended version of the new commercial, which is called "New Family" and broke last night on CBS during "Big Brother," is already being passed around on the web.
Even though I'm an avowed Mac person, I'm contributing to that "going viral" effect by talking about the ads here. This either proves A) it's going viral, or B) a $300 million contract between Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the ad agency, and Microsoft is paying off for Microsoft.
Alice Hill at RealTechNews commented
It’s a much, much better ad that the first one. And it makes Bill G almost lovable, if such a thing could be possible. But with Bill and Jerry retired, what does it really say about what they left behind?
Mary Jo Foley, in Keep the faith: More Windows-specific consumer ads coming soon quoted a Microsoft spokesperson who said that the ads will quickly move to being more about Windows, including desktop, laptop and mobile.
I've always been amused by the PC guy vs. Mac guy ads. It has done nothing to change my buying behavior. I thought the full four and a half minute ad on YouTube was amusing, too. I have a feeling that it won't change my buying behavior either. What is your reaction? Does it affect what you buy?
The iconic comedian and Bill Gates stumble through suburbia
I'm still amused by Apple's Mac vs. PC guy ads, especially the one where PC pokes his head up out of a pizza box and explains he wants to attract college students.
Microsoft apparently decided it was time to try it's own version of funny ads. Microsoft has teamed up Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld in a series of ads, that so far, only hint at anything Windows or Vista related. Gizmodo calls Gates and Seinfeld
the new Laural and Hardy of ambiguous advertising
The public hasn't seen many of the minute and a half ads yet, but there's a four and a half minute version that Karen at Unterekless Thoughts declares
New Gates/Seinfeld/Microsoft ad made me laugh so it must be good
You can see the long version at YouTube. In the long version, Bill and Jerry attempt to live with a normal (as in not filthy rich like them) family. They attempt a few normal things, like eating scalloped potatoes and playing ping pong before they get kicked out.
There are some funny lines, which is all there is to evaluate the ads on at this point—nothing technical is getting mentioned. Abbey Klaassen at Advertising Age agreed in Gates, Seinfeld Funnier Second Time Around. Klaassen pointed out,
What the latest spot brings – which seemed unlikely with the first spot, dubbed "The Conquistador," that broke last week – is the potential for the ad to go viral. An extended version of the new commercial, which is called "New Family" and broke last night on CBS during "Big Brother," is already being passed around on the web.
Even though I'm an avowed Mac person, I'm contributing to that "going viral" effect by talking about the ads here. This either proves A) it's going viral, or B) a $300 million contract between Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the ad agency, and Microsoft is paying off for Microsoft.
Alice Hill at RealTechNews commented
It’s a much, much better ad that the first one. And it makes Bill G almost lovable, if such a thing could be possible. But with Bill and Jerry retired, what does it really say about what they left behind?
Mary Jo Foley, in Keep the faith: More Windows-specific consumer ads coming soon quoted a Microsoft spokesperson who said that the ads will quickly move to being more about Windows, including desktop, laptop and mobile.
I've always been amused by the PC guy vs. Mac guy ads. It has done nothing to change my buying behavior. I thought the full four and a half minute ad on YouTube was amusing, too. I have a feeling that it won't change my buying behavior either. What is your reaction? Does it affect what you buy?
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BOSTON The second salvo in Microsoft's Jerry Seinfeld-Bill Gates campaign has appeared in the form of a four-minute-plus video available on YouTube and elsewhere.
The iconic comedian and Microsoft chairman this time venture to suburbia, where they try to act like regular guys despite being surrounded by a highly irregular family. The off-kilter atmosphere is reminiscent of Seinfeld's classic '90s sitcom, and Jerry's wisecracks and his odd chemistry (or lack thereof) with the stiff yet likeable Gates coming to the fore in this installment.
Microsoft's first ad with the pair, set in a discount shoe store, broke last week during National Football League coverage. That commercial was 90 seconds long and was, for the most part, judged overly quirky and confusing by commentators. Adweek's ad critic Barbara Lippert gave the work a mixed review.
Much like that earlier effort, the new spot takes a soft-sell approach to its subject matter, with no overt product pitches and only a fleeting reference to Microsoft, mainly in the form of the logo at the end, though Gates, of course, is virtually synonymous with the company he cofounded.
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